Beta versions and update channels

A new version is usually tried out before it is released to everyone. The update channel decides whether your site is offered only finished versions or also those still being tested. Most sites should stay on the default, Stable. This page is for whoever runs the server.

The three channels

From the most settled to the least:

Channel	What your site is offered	Example version numbers
stable	Finished releases only.	1.7.0
beta	Betas, and finished releases.	1.7.0-beta.1, 1.7.0-rc.1
dev	Development builds, betas and finished releases.	1.7.0-dev.1

A version's own number says which channel it belongs to: a pre-release part starting with dev is a development build, any other pre-release part is a beta, and a version without one is stable. A published version is never rewritten. If a release turns out to be bad, it is withdrawn so no more sites are offered it, and a new version replaces it.

Choose a channel

Set UPDATE_CHANNEL in the site's settings and restart the server (on Cloudflare, redeploy). See Give the server its settings.

UPDATE_CHANNEL	What happens
not set (the default)	The site does not ask for a channel. The release server uses the channel your licence is on, which is stable unless the publisher changed it. The Updates page shows the channel the server went by.
stable	The site asks for stable releases, even if its licence allows more.
beta	The site asks for beta. Any site may do this.
dev	The site asks for development builds. This works only if the publisher has put your licence on the dev channel. Otherwise the site is treated as asking for beta.
anything else	Treated as stable, with the start-up warning UPDATE_CHANNEL is "...": use stable, beta or dev. Using stable.

A site may always ask for something more settled than its licence allows. It cannot give itself development builds: the release server decides, and it also refuses to hand a development build's download to a licence that is not on the dev channel. Which channel a licence is on is the publisher's choice, which you arrange by writing to support@choirmastercms.com.

In full, for a site that asks and a licence on a channel:

Licence is on	Site asks for nothing	Asks stable	Asks beta	Asks dev
stable	stable	stable	beta	beta
beta	beta	stable	beta	beta
dev	dev	stable	beta	dev

What the Updates page shows

The panel at the top shows Update channel: Stable, Beta or Development. That is the channel the release server went by at the last check. Before the first check it shows the channel the site asked for.

If the site asked for more than it was given, a blue note says so. For UPDATE_CHANNEL=dev on a licence that is not on the dev channel it reads:

This site asks for development builds (UPDATE_CHANNEL=dev), but its licence key is not on the development channel, so it is on the beta channel.

For other cases it reads "This site asks for the X channel but is on the Y channel."

The Updates page of a site on the beta channel, with the Beta label on the version and the amber warning 'This is a beta.'

A beta or a development build, offered or running

A version that is a beta or development build is marked with a label and an amber warning, both when it is on offer and while the site is running it.

Kind	Label	Warning title	Warning text
Beta	Beta	This is a beta.	It is a version still being tested before it is released to everyone. It may have faults the finished version will not.
Development	Development build	This is a development build.	It is made for testing work that is not finished, and may not have been tried anywhere else. Do not install it on a site people rely on.

When a beta is on offer the label and warning appear next to Version X is available. When your site is running one, the warning is at the top of the page and the label is under This site is on. Installing a beta works like installing any release, and its signature is checked in the same way.

Never install a development build on a site that people rely on.

Which version counts as newer

Versions are compared the usual way, on every channel:

• A finished version is newer than all of its pre-releases. 1.7.0 is newer than 1.7.0-beta.3 and 1.7.0-dev.9. A site on a beta is offered 1.7.0 as soon as it is published, and moves off the beta onto it.
• Between pre-releases of the same version, the names are compared alphabetically, so every 1.7.0-dev build counts as newer than every 1.7.0-beta. A site on 1.7.0-dev.3 is not moved to 1.7.0-beta.1. It stays where it is until a later dev build, or 1.7.0 itself.

Development builds are cut for the publisher's own test sites, so most sites will never see this.

Go back to stable

1. Set UPDATE_CHANNEL=stable, or remove the setting, and restart.
2. The site is offered only finished releases from then on. It stays on the beta it is running until a finished version that is newer than it appears. If you are on 1.7.0-beta.1, the next stable release that is offered is 1.7.0 or later.

There is no downgrade. To go back to an older finished version while you wait, install it by hand (Update by hand) and, if the site had downloaded the beta itself, delete DATA_DIR/releases first so the installed code runs. See How updates work.